Terry Fox

Terry Fox during his Marathon of Hope (Google)

Terry Fox was born in Manitoba and raised in British Columbia near Vancouver. When Terry Fox was 18, in his first year of university at SFU, he played basketball for the junior varsity team. Later that year, he was diagnosed with bone cancer in his leg. He was told he would have to get his leg amputated.

When Terry got his prosthetic leg, he started off on his journey. He started in St. Johns, Newfoundland by dipping his leg in the Atlantic Ocean. His goal was to dip his leg in the Pacific Ocean in British Columbia. He started his journey on April 12, 1980. He ran for 143 days and raised 1.7 million dollars for cancer research. People were still donating to Terry Fox’s cause and within a year they had raised 23 million dollars.

Terry Fox's statue in Thunder Bay, Ontario (Google)

On September 1, 1980, when Terry was running through Thunder Bay, he realized a sharp pain in his lungs, and he got forced to stop. He was flown to the hospital in British Columbia and he got diagnosed with lung cancer. He died later the next year.

He inspired me because he wanted to make a difference and help those kids who he saw suffering. He influenced other people to raise money for other causes. (Ex. Rick Hansen). He has made such an impact in cancer research that people are still continuing his Marathon of Hope now all over the world.